Enough has been said about the Omni-Channel experience through two perspectives – primarily, why it is a myth, as seen through my posts including The Omni-Channel Paradox, Omni-Channel Far From Being a Reality. Secondly, discovering what the Omni-Channel experience will really mean for brands and consumers, while understanding why it is critical that every brand solve this puzzle and inspire behavioral change.

However, few brands and marketers have gained much success in deploying Omni-Channel strategies for one simple reason – we operate atop an extremely fragmented ecosystem, which is channel-focused as opposed to being channel-agnostic. In order to make this shift, a fundamental change is in order; I call these elements the First Principles of An Omni-Channel Strategy (listed in no specific order):

1. Drive Convergence

The need to disrupt the silos and connect the fragments across the organization, fundamentally within the marketing ecosystem.

– Technology must have the ability to converge across organizational models & functions. Therefore, marketing and eCommerce or marketing and sales must not be isolated from each other (for example).

– The ability to have marketing technology converge and construct an interconnected ecosystem should be a vital asset that we strive for. We possess the toolkit to harvest our data, and yet lack the ability to leverage said information.

– It is critical that data silos converge – driving data harmonization will enable us to construct and deliver a seamless customer experience, for the purpose of changing consumer behaviour.

– In order to oversee these operations, we must converge the skills of the modern marketer as well. Individuals who are capable of shattering the common T-Shaped mindset and transitioning towards what I like to call the Pi Shaped mindset, resemble the rare and well-sought marketing unicorns.

2. Content Strategy

Take an integrated approach to developing content strategy that aids you in delivering the appropriate content to the right consumer with the right context. Ideally, this will be done at a time and touchpoint of her choice.

Content, alongside data and technology, are the sole channel-agnostic linchpins that can drive the Omni-Channel experience. Content will follow and deliver the final punch by providing an immersive yet seamless consumer experience. This will in turn inspire behavioral change through participation.

3. Connected Planning Using CONTENT, DATA & TECHNOLOGY

Initiate a planning process that will inspire data-driven marketing (connecting data, content and technology) with the consumer as a central focus. We must move away from traditional planning constructs that are “Channel Driven,” towards plans or strategies derived from data and consumer insights. This will lead us to determine the “right” content throughout the consumer journey, specifically focusing on the inflection points where a change is required in consumer behavior.

4. Shifting Our TECHNOLOGY & CHANNEL Obsession to CONSUMER Obsession

We need to make a transition from technology or channel obsession to consumer obsession. It ultimately boils down to the way in which we measure success; whether it surrounds great technology solutions, driving scale and cost savings, OR it’s primarily about driving consumer experiences and inspiring participation through behavioral changes, eventually spurring top line growth.

Until we are able to establish “consumer-focused” goals as a collective vision and measure of success for all, we will continue to observe examples of channel and technology obsession. After all, we are currently recognizing and rewarding that same behavior.

5. Data Strategy

Finally and perhaps most importantly, we must establish a data strategy which is focused on Data Harmonization and Data Convergence. It must be recognized that data is the linchpin that ties together the consumer journey. It serves as the only signal that we receive as the consumer travels from one touchpoint to another. The ability to learn from one’s former experiences to compose future experiences, agnostic of channel, will ultimately lead to a seamless, consumer-centered, Omni-Channel experience.

Ironically, our industry has been talking a lot about Omni-Channel for quite some time, yet the only portion of the ecosystem that truly operates and behaves in an Omni-Channel way is the consumer. We can see that everyone else is a representation of multi-channel, at most.

Although these 5 fundamentals may not cover everything that you will need to become Omni-Channel, these elements are certainly essential for you to consider before embarking on that journey. Otherwise, Omni-Channel will continue to exist as nothing more than an abstract theory.

If you would like to contribute to our blog, we are currently seeking guest authors to share their unique insight and thought leadership. Please reach out to info@qoints.com for more information – we look forward to hearing from you!

About the Author

Mayur Gupta, otherwise known as a model Chief Marketing technologist, is the Global VP for Growth & Marketing at Spotify, responsible for setting strategy and driving the growth of Spotify’s global user base. Prior to this position, he was Global Head of Marketing Technology and Innovation for Kimberly Clark, as well as Senior Vice President of Marketing, OmniChannel Solutions and Digital Capabilities at HealthGrades. Mayur was recognized as one of the “40 under 40” leading marketers in the industry by BrandInnovators in 2014, and also received the CMO Programmatic Award by the CMOClub.

As an non-traditional marketing agency, 5Crowd provides a platform to connect brands with a range of marketing freelance professionals across the globe. Find out more about how they use technology to connect passionate content creators with the companies who require creative diversity.

Briefly describe your company

We’re a technology-enabled production agency with no creative or production folks on staff. Instead, we have a curated network of freelance professionals located in over 150 cities around the world, which we call our Crowd. We have a diverse range of skillsets in our Crowd, including copywriters, designers, and videographers. We are fortunate to work with over 100 global brands including clients like Labatt, J&J, Microsoft, Twitter, McDonald’s, and more.

How big is your team?

We are a core group of 15 people based out of Toronto who are focused on client services, project management, and software development. And of course, we work with a large network of freelance professionals that allow us to extend our capabilities to meet the diverse needs of our clients.

Why is your tech needed?

Our platform provides a 360-degree solution for onboarding, managing and collaborating with freelance professionals all around the world. This includes things like matching new projects with the right freelancers, making payments, and collaborating on files. The tech removes a lot of the friction involved with pulling together freelance teams, making the process a lot more rewarding and fun for everyone involved.

In 10 years, how will your company have changed the face of marketing?

The advertising industry is changing rapidly, and we are very excited to be a part of it. However, the most rewarding part is enabling our clients to innovate and adapt to the changing landscapes. For many of our clients, we aren’t just another supplier — we change the way work gets done. We’ve seen the impact that decoupling creative and execution can have on a business, not just on their bottom line but also in the ability to do more with less. We’re also big believers in meritocracy, and we work hard to bridge the gap between large enterprise and freelance professionals, providing exciting project opportunities to great people across the globe.

What is the biggest advantage of being based in Canada?

Canada is a fantastic place to start a tech company. We have programs like SR&ED and IRAP and we have access to great talent. However, one specific advantage is that most multinationals have a presence in the GTA – if you go up and down one highway you can get between all of them. This factor makes Toronto a great place to incubate any sort of enterprise-based business and build early relationships with lots of large customers. While the US has tremendous scale, sales processes are complicated by headquarters spread out among regional business centers with many more decision makers. Canada has a real opportunity to incubate, de-risk, and export enterprise innovation.

Canada has a real opportunity to incubate, de-risk, and export enterprise innovation.

What was your biggest “win” this year?

5Crowd was recently acquired by sgsco, a global leader in marketing production owned by ONEX. Since our acquisition by sgsco, we have seen a lot of growth in our business. It has been incredible to have clients lean-in and see our 5Crowd team create a great impact on their business. Through this expansion, we have gained lots of traction on our mission to unlock the power of freelance and share it with the world.

With an ever-expanding Crowd, 5Crowd continues to serve as a key tool for simplifying the marketer’s hunt for creativity. Check out 5Crowd’s site for more information on this out-of-the-box agency. Qoints is excited to promote Canadian talent within our MarTechMade In Canada series, following the positive reaction to last year’s article. If you wish to share the story of your Canadian MarTech startup’s journey, reach out to info@qoints.com today!

As the clouds of the long weekend blew away to reveal amazing patio weather, Qoints & N100 hosted our 2nd annual startup BBQ on Tuesday August 8, 2017. With over a hundred passionate members of the Northumberland startup community in attendance, guests enjoyed good food and company outside of the Mill Pub & Restaurant in beautiful Cobourg, Ontario while taking part in this celebration of entrepreneurship. Our CEO & Co-founder, Cory Rosenfield, welcomed attendees and opened the conversation on innovation in Northumberland County, setting the stage for some very exciting announcements.

The event generated significant buzz around the winner of N100 2017, Ambience Data, and their continued dedication to developing digital environmental monitoring systems. This news was accompanied by two exciting announcements from MP Kim Rudd, who represents the riding of Northumberland-Peterborough South. First, Northumberland CFDC’s contribution of $50,000 under the Eastern Ontario Development Program (EODP) towards the Northumberland Agri Food Fund. In addition, MP Rudd announced the CFDC’s investment of $100,000 towards EODP’s Collaborative Economic Development Project’s 3D digital mapping project, which will contribute to 25 new business partnerships within rural Eastern Ontario.

(Left) Cory Rosenfield, CEO & Co-Founder, Qoints

(Right) Kim Rudd, Member of Parliament for Northumberland-Peterborough South

Following the success of the N100, it was announced during the BBQ that Renfrew County has recognized the value of investing in a community-based startup competition, and will launch their very own competition for 2018 called “RC100.” Qoints is proud to be an example of the impact that community-based competitions can have, and is extremely appreciative of Northumberland’s platform which has enabled us to grow our roots in the region through hiring (we now have 3 local students on our team), as well as taking part in the establishment of Venture 13 (Cobourg’s new startup space set to open in early 2018).

As summer turns to fall, the Qoints team transitions from organizing a sunny BBQ towards hosting our State of MarTech event, to be held in November in Toronto. We look forward to continuing to explore the opportunities that Northumberland has for both us and other startups, and cannot wait to begin planning next year’s BBQ event – see you there!

Photography Credits: Scott Tromley & John Hayden

Qoints is proud to announce its charitable commitment to The Upside Foundation. The Upside Foundation is a Canadian charity, serving as a platform for startups and established companies to give back to their community.

About Upside

Established in 2013, the Upside Foundation facilitates corporate philanthropy through a unique model that allows companies to donate options or warrants instead of cash. This enables members of the high growth startup sector to take part in giving without having to dip into limited cash reserves. Qoints is proud to be part of the drive for 150 x 150 – an initiative to have 150 pledges by Canada’s 150th birthday, which was achieved just days before.

How it Works

Companies will typically donate approximately 1% of their outstanding shares to Upside. Qoints is encouraging each one of its current and future shareholders to pledge 1% of their stock to the Upside Foundation. At the time of a liquidity event (either an acquisition by another company or an IPO), Upside will sell their stake and donate the cash proceeds to a registered Canadian charity. Qoints is involved in the selection of the funding recipient(s), which furthers the meaningful connection to the donation.

Why We Pledge

Upside welcomes companies from all industries to participate in their work, with a majority of the pledges coming from tech-focused startups with high growth projections.

“Participating in this program amplifies our commitment to community involvement and giving back” said Cory Rosenfield, CEO and co-founder of Qoints. “We want to help spread the message that philanthropy is important to startups, too.”

We are proud to join highly respected Canadian startups such as Wattpad, WealthSimple, Hubba, and many more in joining the pledge to help support the Upside Foundation and all that they do.

If you want to find out more about the organization, and how they’re giving back to our communities, go to www.upsidefoundation.ca.

Welcome to MarTech Made In Canada – Qoints’ new writing series about uniquely Canadian MarTech startups.

We have curated a number of interviews with Canadian Marketing Technology startups, as they reveal the perks of growing in the Great White North. Stay tuned as we feature some thought leadership from the diverse MarTech companies Canada has to offer, and showcase the amazing products that they are building here!

Interview with Kelly Stewart, Growth Marketing Manager, Sampler

Located in the heart of downtown Toronto’s startup community, Sampler provides brands with access to millions of consumer profiles through partnerships with high value online communities. Today they give us a sample of how they help companies create sustainable brand-consumer sampling relationships.

Briefly describe your company

Sampler’s product sampling management and insights platform helps brands distribute product samples to hyper-targeted audiences. There are two ways to work with us: Sampler can help brands create promotions that are integrated directly into their own marketing channels, or the Sampler Exchange helps brands distribute their offers across Sampler’s audience network.

How big is your team?

15 members

Why is your tech needed?

Prior to learning about Sampler, brands tend to use traditional sampling methods (like in-store sampling and direct mail) to spread the word about their product. Brands have been using the same product sampling strategies for decades and grew to believe that blindly distributing samples to non-targeted audiences was as efficient as sampling could get.

This is the perfect time for Sampler’s technology to flourish in the marketplace because we’ve created a solution to the pain points marketers have experienced for decades, like minimal ROI and a lack of targeting. Our publisher partnerships help brands target niche audiences, so brands can ensure their products are reaching their target consumers.

In 10 years, how will your company have changed the face of marketing?

Because product sampling has been such a traditional space for so long, Sampler is constantly working towards changing this piece of the marketing puzzle to a more digitally-savvy, turnkey process. No company is currently offering brands a targeted, end-to-end solution to manage their digital product sampling efforts.

Sampler’s technology is the first central database of product sampling activity for brands and publishers, and has collected over ¾ of a million deep consumer profiles since inception (using online communities including thekit.ca, Healthline, and Canadian Mother Resource). In 10 years, we hope that brands continue to see how valuable digital product sampling can be versus the traditional methods (direct mail, experiential marketing), and that Sampler becomes the go-to digital sampling tool for both enterprise and niche brands globally.

What is the biggest advantage of being based in Canada?

There are so many incredible advantages to being based in Canada, but I would have to say the top two are the booming startup community culture as well as the amazing talent. Canada has such a supportive and growing startup technology community that all help each other to push Canada’s technology notoriety even further.

With events, seminars, and mentorship constantly occurring all over the country, there is a real sense of camaraderie here. As for the amazing talent, there are so many incredibly talented individuals who really know their specialized fields inside and out. There’s no shortage of talent to be found here, which makes it easy to build a really strong team.

What was your biggest “win” this year?

A big win for Sampler this year was the launch of a second solution, known as the Sampler Exchange. The Sampler Exchange gives brands access to the audiences of major publications and online communities while helping these online publishers with large reach launch fully-branded sampling programs that their audience loves to join. Brands can now tap into niche audiences and reach high quality, targeted consumers. In the few months since the Sampler Exchange’s launch, we have secured partnerships with major publications like Prevention, The Bump and Healthline.

Qoints is excited to promote Canadian talent within our MarTechMade In Canada series, following the positive reaction to last year’s article. If you wish to share the story of your Canadian MarTech startup’s journey, reach out to info@qoints.com today! To find out more about Sampler’s ability to seamlessly put products into the hands of your target consumer, visit their website.

Snapchat has come back to the media scene with its latest major feature; the snapmap. It’s a tool that gives users a view of current events around the world, and it also allows users to access a virtual map that shows where in the world their friends are at that moment. This new feature has the ability to open doors for numerous marketing opportunities, and on a more global scale; we are excitedly awaiting the release of SnapChat’s advertising features so we can fully take stock.

Prepare Yourself for Snapaction

In the few weeks following the release of SnapMaps, we have already seen some brand new tools added to the platform: the ability to add links to stories, alter the user’s voice, and change the backgrounds of images. It appears that this is just the beginning of Snap’s efforts to facilitate new ways for advertisers to drive traffic through the app. While we wait for the next exciting marketing features to roll out, make yourself comfortable and learn more about the Map platform with our detailed walkthrough.

What This Means

Global Connectivity & Reach

Given the global nature of this new setting, companies have the opportunity to gain visibility from consumers both local and abroad. This will allow increased ease of access and reach, given that events and sponsored posts across the world will now be readily available to explore and share for all users (rather than being exclusive to one location). Marketers will be able to access information around how the global audience interacts with their content, rather than only using impression based views as metrics.

Hyper Targeting (Location and Density)

Although the map allows global visibility, users can also make public stories on the heat map specific to their town, hamlet, or city. This creates a hyper targeted and personalized experience, promoting a collective experience for the user’s community. In addition, the use of the heat map exhibits a real time visual representation of SnapChat story density, allowing users to see where and when activity is happening nearby.

Increased Activity

Although SnapChat’s user growth has slowed due to competitor similarities (looking at you, Instagram), this new feature capitalizes on a key weakness of mobile users: FOMO and curiosity. The “fear of missing out” is very strong among users when it comes to events or outings, and Snapchat has created a visual representation of where your friends are and you aren’t. Aside from using this tool as a way to stalk your pals, the feature drives curiosity to explore current events around the world, without needing to do much digging. User frequency should increase as Snapchatters update when and where they are doing things, while others may discover these postings in real time.

The allure is found in the organic perspective that these clips offer – users are drawn to content that appears as though their friends were sharing the experience with them.

Marketing Opportunities

Although advertising opportunities are not yet available on this new feature (at least for now), we can foresee these marketing tools as potential offerings within the Map in the near future.

HeatMap Geofilters

Marketers may soon have the opportunity to add sponsored lenses (filters) to locations that are heavily concentrated with activity (deep red) within a 24hr period.

Geo-Targeted Ads

Using stories to advertise events like that of location-specific sales and promotions or local activities. This could be highly specific to each location and user base, targeting users who are touring the area or being used to intrigue existing community members.

Sponsored Location Stories

Larger events that have stories which are globally visible may soon be “sponsored” by brands wanting to associate themselves with events (such as sporting events, music tours, public figure meet and greets, etc.). This can be used to direct the user to the physical location or online page where they can learn more about the brand’s offering.

Explore Your Options

Security Concerns

Although this new feature has become the latest target of discussion surrounding digital privacy, the nature of all location-based apps are no different than Snapchat’s latest offering. Users are capable of opting out of the map feature, and are asked prior to the feature being enabled which preference they wish to use, giving users the ability to manage their audience. Therefore, users have the same amount of leverage (if not more) in contrast to other apps that track friends, “send locations” or post statuses or images with location data.

Where’s the Attraction?

Marketers should view Snapmaps as an exciting new way to capture the attention of a global, youthful audience that lives on a more creative platform. Although one may question the allure of mobile quality amateur videos from events across the world, the draw is found in the organic perspective that these clips offer. Users are drawn to content that appears as though their friends were sharing the experience with them, or captures a unique adventure that they could have taken.

This new degree of activity is something that Marketers should be excited about, as we await the next steps for advertising on this global platform. If you want to read more about trending and exciting news regarding the MarTech sector, make sure to follow our blog for updates.

In this article, we explore how marketers must look towards actionable metrics, rather than vanity-based impressions, to measure the success of their campaigns

Look Below the Surface of Metrics

It all began when marketers started exploring an exciting new advertising channel: digital. Think back to traditional banner ads, followed by search, and much much later on, social media. Marketers who were early digital adopters often saw immediate success, and in turn, wanted to show off to their management (generally for the praise and increased budget).

However, a major obstacle was uncovered when attempting to quantify digital success to executives, as they were typically older and unfamiliar with this form of advertising (let alone the internet) at the time. Because of this, marketers reverted to a language that their managers could understand – this Jurassic language was impressions.

In traditional advertising models, impressions were estimated by extrapolating from a sample (e.g. look at Nielsen for TV ratings). In the digital world, it’s always been simple to count how many times a page was loaded, or a video was watched. It would seem logical, then, to rely on impressions for measurement of digital campaigns because it was a commonly accepted metric in the past and would appear to be an apples to apples comparison.

Here at Qoints, we’ve gathered data from thousands of digital activation campaigns. We can now say with confidence that the number of impressions, on its own, is nothing more than a vanity metric. Many marketers find it reasonable to use impressions as an indicator of ROI… today we’re going to poke a hole in that notion.

“Always question the underlying meaning of reported results before relying on them as Key Performance Indicators.”

Impressions Provide Misleading Evidence

Impression numbers tend to expand quickly, which naturally makes a marketer feel as though their message is landing. For this reason, it’s imperative to keep a clear mind and always question the underlying meaning of reported results before relying on them as Key Performance Indicators.

To give an example, 10,000 unique impressions on a Facebook sidebar ad may seem like a lot, but without any additional context, it really doesn’t mean anything for impact. Knowing the average clickthrough rate for a Facebook sidebar ad, and comparing it to your own performance, is essential to understanding whether or not your ads are performing well. The idea that a Facebook sidebar impression could be compared to a Facebook Sponsored Post impression alongside TV or Radio impressions is silly.

According to our research analyzing award winning shopper marketing campaigns in 2016, there is little (if any) correlation between impressions on their own and sales lift.

Take a look at the examples below:

Campaign A had approximately 6,000,000 impressions, and produced a sales lift of 30%
Campaign D had approximately 205,000,000 impressions, but only generated a sales lift of 13%

Marketers cannot rely on impressions alone to determine the success of their campaigns, as this measure of engagement is barely at the surface level.

Engagements such as likes, retweets, shares and comments are more ideal because they require some amount of action from the consumer; even if it’s as simple as a click, it proves (in most cases) that the ad was seen. Anything requesting customer engagement will be more impactful, given that approximately 90% of shared content is forgotten if there is no call to action.

The Leading Alternative – What to Track Instead of Impressions

It is essential to actively seek out actionable metrics, which measure consumer activity that promotes growth. These include engagements that are interactive, like coupon redemption or a product referral. Tying an engagement to an actual sale is of course the gold standard, so always ask yourself what would be needed in order to make such an attribution. If it’s feasible, it would be silly not to track – however in many cases digital measurement is very difficult (we look forward to a future where everyone can tie their digital marketing efforts directly to sales!).

In any case, ensuring that your efforts are coupled with effective measurement is the only way to be confident in the objective evaluation of a campaign’s success or failure. Even if you do deem a campaign to be a failure, proper measurement provides a foundation for consistent improvement as long as the methodology is consistent (and you stick to it).

Although vanity metrics are appealing at first glance, marketers should look towards actionable metrics that display a more invested (listening and responding) audience to measure campaign impact.

Go Beyond Impressions

In order to determine the overall success of a campaign, marketers must be able to identify whenand where their energy and budget was effectively allocated. Without going beyond the metrics of impressions, only the superficial interactions can be identified, resulting in a deceitful representation of the campaign’s impact.

Measuring elements aside from vanity metrics will allow brands to track the underlying results of their campaigns, and adjust accordingly to stay one step ahead of the competition.

Always look towards your campaign data to provide valuable interpretations – we have curated a research report of how effective analysis of digital promotion can in fact lead to a sales lift. Find out how your digital benchmarks can work for you – contact us to learn more!

– In this article we discuss how marketers often exhaust channels in attempts to reach a wider audience, as overly dispersing your messages will dilute the impact on your target

– It is found that you must be precise with channel choice in order to drive results and attain a measurable ROI

Your Channel’s Net Has Holes

Times have vastly changed from the era of marketers advertising towards the broad public, trying to simply be “louder” than the competition. In the past, it was seen as strategic to cast a wide net in hopes of catching as many leads as possible. The logic was simple: a bigger “net” reaches more people, and thus generates a higher sales lift. As the marketing industry has matured however, trying to be louder than everyone else has become a losing battle. To stick with our analogy, your bigger marketing net now has more holes – and your target audience is getting away.

Fortunately, no longer are the days where the only option is to take a costly shot in the dark. Marketers can now use pinpoint precision in choosing who, when and where they target an audience. What’s still missing is the why; we lack the ability to dig into our data to unearth valuable consumer insight and measure the effectiveness of these marketing channels.

Quit Fishing and Research Your Marketing Channels

Marketing execs may find themselves overwhelmed with the wide array of marketing channels that they can use for their various campaigns (we see this constantly here at Qoints). An estimated 96% of brand discussion is NOT happening on owned tech industry profiles, therefore companies must determine where these conversations are actually taking place. However, broad marketing channel statistics don’t apply to every industry – marketers must use data to determine what caters to their own audience.

Every target market requires a different approach to channel usage, and it is critical that marketers recognize which channels are effective to reach each respective target demographic.Take, for example, two of the most popular targets for digital shopper marketing campaigns: moms and millennials. The most effective marketing channels for reaching these demographics are completely different (read on for details and see the chart below). From extensive research on recent standout campaigns, we observed contrasting approaches that modern marketers have taken to target these popular consumer types.

Broad marketing channel statistics don’t apply to every industry – marketers must use data to determine what caters to their own audience.

How Marketers Access “The Biggest Catch”

Moms

In order to access the new mothers of the world, marketers primarily used Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, while including more traditional marketing channels like blogs. Millennial moms are social, mobile and very visually oriented, so imagery and videos are ideal content. Given the generally cautious nature of moms, these commonly used platforms appeal to their digital comfort levels. Moms are not as inclined to branch out to new channels, nor do they have the time, therefore sticking to traditional social media is the best way to reach them. However, with 83% of new moms coming from the millennial generation, the tech savvy transition of this demographic is not to be ignored.

Millennials

On the other end of the spectrum, to catch the eye of the media-savvy millennial group, platforms such as Snapchat, Youtube, Twitter and Instagram have become the standard. This reflects the quick adoption rate of the digitally-inclined youth, who are significantly more open to experimenting with newer social platforms. They love their mobile devices, with about 20% using only mobile to access the internet – these could be potential consumers who are unaccessible without mobile compatibility. Marketers must be in tune with not only the latest trends, but millennial’s channel preferences.

It has become apparent that marketers need to be more precise with their channel choices in order to access their increasingly specific targets. As seen through Qoints’ data analysis, one channel may be effective for targeting moms, but almost useless for accessing millennials. With ad blocking technologies improving exponentially, customers are increasingly capable of opting out of the content that they do not wish to see; companies need to know now more than ever how to best capture their targets. It is critical that brands allocate their valuable marketing dollars to channels that stand to yield the best ROI, and ensure that money is not being wasted on platforms that are irrelevant to their target customer.

Measurement is a Matter of Sink or Swim

In order to maximize ROI from a channel perspective, marketers should seek out tools that help inform the decision and implement the use of such tools as an essential part of the marketing stack. This will help drive focus on ROI for all campaigns. The next step is to measure your results objectively and obsessively – you simply cannot improve if you are not measuring. Proper measurement leads to improvement in just about every scenario. Throughout your digital marketing campaigns, effective measurement must be considered a matter of sink or swim.

Here at Qoints, competitive benchmarking is our area of expertise … and we are ready to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us, whether you’re looking to audit your current efforts or you want to know where to start.

As of May 29th, the size of our Cobourg office has tripled! Joining the Qoints team are Grace Demill and Brock Ney, Northumberland County natives. Grace will fill the role of Marketing Analyst, while Brock will work as our Customer Success Coordinator.

Grace Demill is a lively member of the Northumberland community, entering her second year studying within Queen’s University’s Commerce program. As a business student, she gravitates towards the field of marketing, and is eager to immerse herself within social roles. Aside from her studies, she enjoys filling her free time with horseback riding, wrestling, soccer, acting, and sharing the odd dad joke.

Brock is a President’s List Commerce student entering his fourth year of studies at UOIT. He is very involved at UOIT, which includes being a Junior Marketing Coordinator executive for the Accounting Association, and playing multiple intramural sports including soccer, volleyball, and basketball. When he is not in school or working, Brock enjoys biking and playing outside with his dog!

Cory Rosenfield, cofounder & CEO, is very excited about the new developments. “We’re starting to see the vision of a bringing high-quality jobs to the Northumberland. This is a part of Qoints’ strong, ongoing commitment to drive innovation within the region.”

Wendy Curtis, Executive Director of Northumberland CFDC, is pleased with the recent growth of the Qoints team. “It is so exciting to see Qoints grow their business and continue to create next generation jobs for youth in Northumberland. We are very proud of our 2015 N100 winner and the leadership of founders Cory Rosenfield and Harris Maxwell.”

We are excited to see what the future holds, and can’t wait for our new team members to get down to work!

March 1, 2017 marked another milestone for Qoints, as the Toronto team moved into IBM’s Innovation Space located at 185 Spadina Ave!

We are beyond excited with a new spark of energy, and believe partnering with IBM will foster many opportunities to grow and pursue our vision of empowering intelligent, data-driven marketing solutions. IBM is a technology industry leader with world class Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing technologies offered by Watson, making them a great partner for us as we start to dig deeper into the analysis of our growing campaign repository.

At the end of 2016, Qoints was accepted in to IBM’s exclusive Global Entrepreneurship Program and plans were put in place at that time to relocate to 185 Spadina Ave. IBM is providing significant funds towards the use of their technology, so we can further develop risk-free proof of concepts for our clients. Along with platform credits and office space, there are co-sales and partnership opportunities as well as an amazing network of IBMers to learn from. The energy in 185 Spadina isn’t like the “Big Blue” corporate giant you might expect, but more like a lean tech startup (not really a traditional incubator) where Canada’s brightest are working on some of the smartest, most challenging and exciting businesses we’ve seen in a single room. We’re honoured to be a part of it.

We’d also like to give a shout-out and a big thank you to OCAD U and the Imagination Catalyst program. Being headquartered at iCat over the last year has been greatly beneficial for Qoints, helping us build new partnerships, get invaluable advice, and access new mentors that we otherwise would probably not have met. Imagination Catalyst took a big risk on Qoints, accepting a community member with no direct association to OCAD U at the time – they were looking to bring business minds in to balance the design-first thinking of the space. The result is that Qoints now thinks with design as a priority, and we’re so proud to truly be OCAD U alumi and a permanent part of this amazing community. We had the opportunity to guest lecture, lead bootcamps, judge contests, have dinner at the President’s home and most memorable of all, held our first ever State of MarTech event in partnership with Imagination Catalyst. We’d like to give a special thanks to both Kathryn Ellis and Katherine Roos, who are both incredible people and champions of the startup ecosystem. We will certainly miss seeing you every day, and look forward to collaborating on more industry events in the near future.

As we look ahead, we know we will continue to work hard to bring digital benchmarking to the forefront of the industry, and help ensure that digital marketers have the tools to make smarter and more effective decisions.

We can’t wait to see what the future holds for us in our new environment!